


Countdown

by AshAndSnow



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bank Robbery, Established Relationship, Gen, Human AU, I Don't Even Know, Mortal AU, Somebody dies, Sorry Not Sorry, What Have I Done, this isn't nice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-01
Updated: 2013-11-01
Packaged: 2017-12-31 04:48:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1027415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshAndSnow/pseuds/AshAndSnow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki and Tony Stark cross paths in the most unfortunate of circumstances.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Countdown

_Present time_

This is it, then.

Tony shouldn’t feel as calm as he does. He has so much to live for; the very reason he walked into the building proves it. He has plans for the future and things he want to do. But he’s calm. Entirely so. The cool metal against his temple, the strong arm wrapped around him and preventing his escape. But it’s okay. He’s cool with it. He’s at peace.

“NO!”

Until _that_ voice sounds from the other side of the room and he isn’t anymore.

_58 minutes earlier earlier_

”Wow,” Pepper sighs. She sounds dreamy as she says it, amazed even.

“I know, right?” Tony agrees with a silly grin. He sounds proud of himself, reminiscent of a child who was just vacuumed the floors all on his own without being told to do so. “It’s perfect. All he has to do is say yes.”

The object of their attention is a ring. An engagement rings, to be more exact. Truly gorgeous, absolutely. It’s a thin band in yellow gold with a claw set nine carat emerald cut emerald the very leafy color of the eyes set in the face of the recipient – if he’ll take it, that is.

“I still can’t believe you’re actually going to propose to him.”

It would be very like Tony to joke with her then and tell her he’s offended by her lack of faith in him. But he doesn’t and somehow it just shows how serious he really is about it. “I know,” he says again, this time with a softer smile and a softer voice.

He turns his attention to the expectant salesman who was showing Tony a vast array of rings just a few days ago and who has been keeping it on hold for Tony so he could get Pepper’s stamp of approval. She doesn’t know Loki as well as Tony does but she knows him well enough and she knows Tony and she knows jewelry. He was never going to buy anything like this without her okay. “I guess I made my choice, then,” he says with a flashy grin and whips out his wallet from his back pocket to pick out his credit card but the salesman shakes his head.

“I’m sorry, we can’t take credit cards today. The entire system behind the machinery has gone down. It’s a city wide problem,” he apologizes. Tony wants to get pissed because who the heck even carries cash these days let alone money enough to buy a ring like this but Pepper gives him a look and he supposes it isn’t the salesman’s fault.

“Well, what do I do then?”

“I’ll be happy to keep it on hold for you until the problem has been fixed,” the salesman suggests.

“No,” Tony says, shaking his head. “I need the ring tonight. I can’t wait a few days.”

“Do you have a checkbook?”

Tony looks a bit sheepish and shakes his because he’s a multibillionaire and he should really be the kind of guy who has a checkbook but he isn’t and he isn’t about to start now just because of some malfunction. What he should do is invent a system that wouldn’t fail.

“Is it possible for you to get the cash then?”

Tony thinks it over. His bank is just a couple of blocks away and as the genius billionaire hopefully-soon-to-be-engaged-monogame-ex-playboy philanthropist he is he does indeed have the money. “I can do that.”

 

“Great. I’ll kep it on hold until then,” the salesman agrees pleasantly and goes to put the ring away. Tony and Pepper take this as their cue to leave and together they exit the store.

“Well, good luck tonight,” Pepper smiles and leans in to hug him. “I better get going. Happy and I are going sofa shopping.”

Tony laughs and hugs her back. “Bye,” he says. “Have fun sofa shopping.” And as he lets her go and he walks in the opposite direction to go to the bank, he feels light and happy and like everything will be okay.”

_43 minutes earlier_

“-and he’s been acting strange all week.”

It’s moments like these that Loki’s particularly happy that he and Thor have reconnected. There’s nobody else who will fully have his back quite like Thor does and still be able to talk back at him without landing themselves a cold shoulder treatment free of charge as a result. Natasha is too like him, likes to poke and prod too much and thus he doesn’t bitch just for the sake of bitching with her. Tony manages pretty well but it’s still not the same and he is sort of the issue so he’s a no go as well.

Thor chuckles in amusement and puts guacamole dip into their cart which is partially full of Loki’s healthy snacks and partially of Thor’s greasier stuff meant for the movie they will be watching this afternoon. They usually do it every Thursday night but Tony has said that since today is their anniversary the two of them will be spending time together and really, how is Loki supposed to argue with that, so they are doing it this afternoon instead.

“Don’t laugh at me!” Loki snaps as they move to get in line. “I mean it. He is acting all secretive and jumpy. In all honesty, with the way things are going, he might even cancel tonight.”

 

Thor only shakes his head in amusement as they get to the register and begin loading the cart because he knows his brother can be a bit of a drama queen and chances are that Tony has maybe been a little evasive and now Loki is just really pissed off and is throwing a tantrum. A minor one, especially considering that it’s Loki, but a tantrum nonetheless. “I think you should wait until tonight before assuming he will cancel,” he tries to placate him. “And if he does stand you up, I will be there to watch trashy TV and eat icecream with you.

Loki is about to open his mouth and snark back at him but he’s interrupted by the young woman behind the counter announcing that it will be “27 dollars and 16 cents, please,” so he settles for glaring at him as he fishes his brand new leather wallet out of the pocket on his tailored black peacoat. He has always loved fashion and dressing nicely and with a billionaire for a boyfriend it has been easy to keep up with that interest. He is well dressed and in sharp contrast to Thor who is a T-shirt and jeans kind of guy through and through. He flicks out the credit card but the girl shakes her head.

“No, sorry. The machine’s down so we only take cash today.”

Loki chuckles but then he sees the look on her face and his smile drops and makes way for utter disbelief. “Oh, come on! You have to be kidding me!” he exclaims but she regretfully shakes her head and Loki has never been good with patience and tolerance so he gives her the most murderous look he can muster.

“Calm down,” Thor says. “Isn’t your bank just down the street? I’m pretty sure they have an ATM.”

“Right,” Loki sighs. “Wait here?” he says and Thor nods with that big warm smile and Loki simultaneously wants to hit him and hug him so he does neither and just hurries out the door. He walks down the black with long precise strides and he’s by the ATM in no time. He puts in the card and punches in the PIN but the ATM just spits in out and tells him it’s out of order.

“Just great,” Loki mutters but he doesn’t want to go even further away to find a new ATM and Thor is waiting so he enters the bank and gets in line.

_27 minutes earlier_

Tony arrives at the bank, a big and beautiful building which could probably house an entire football field (okay, maybe not but Tony is a firm believer that exaggerating is vital to understanding) and he gets in line like everybody else. Normally he would feel an overwhelming urge to play the Stark card to get in front of the line but the sheer happiness of having found the perfect ring combined with the understanding that everyone is rather frustrated at the moment. The line is a tad slow but he doesn’t mind and is in fact in such a great mood that he hums and smiles as he waits.

“EVERYBODY DROP DOWN! THIS IS A BANK ROBBERY!”

Shrieks erupt from all over the large room and some drop down immediately. Tony whirls around on the spot and pales a bit at the sight.

_17 minutes earlier_

Loki is among the people dropping to the floor first. He is not afraid to go up against a few bullies but he fights with his mind and there is not much he can do against ten masked guys with machine guns.

If he is honest with himself, he doesn’t know how to feel. Instincts are in part kicking in and he feels terrified. But he is also relatively calm. He knows there is nothing he can do, knows that once they get what they want they’ll be out of there, knows he is too far away from them in case they get frustrated and decide to take hostages. If he just kneels – despite it going against his very nature – he will make it out alive.

Tony has spent a lot of time drilling into his head how to behave in case he is held hostage in any way; whether he be kidnapped because he is Tony Stark’s boyfriend or he be in a situation like this or if it’s a simple mugger. Loki grew up on the country side so Tony worried a lot that Loki would get killed simply because he was unsure of city life. He used to roll his eyes but now he is grateful.

“HANDS ON TOP OF YOUR HEADS!” one of the masked guys yell and Loki complies along with everyone else as a few other masked guys begin checking nobody is trying anything funny, that everybody is kneeling.

Loki’s heart is racing in his chest but his mind is cool. He’ll make it. He’s smart enough to.

_11 minutes earlier_

Tony is itching to stand up and _do_ something but he keeps repeating the spiel he has been giving Loki the past few years inside his mind and he keeps his cool. He is meant to propose to his boyfriend tonight, he is meant to be celebrating his anniversary in a few hours. He has to keep his cool. So he sits, tightens his jaw and waits. For Loki’s sake.

_3 minutes earlier_

“WHERE IS THE FUCKING MONEY!?”

Loki flinches at the sheer volume of the voice. They’ve been pacing for the past quarter of an hour, ensuring nobody has left and nobody has come in. But they’re losing their patience with the bank clerks trying their hardest to get them the money they want as fast as they can.

“We-we’re try-trying-“ a young woman stammers, tears down her cheeks as she shakes like a leaf.

“WELL, TRY HARDER!”

Silence falls for a little longer, broken only by a few stops and the sounds of the clerks moving and doing whatever they’re doing behind the counters. Loki can’t tell from this position.

But soon the, one of the ten masked men has enough and he pulls a man up from the floor, holding him harshly against his chest and pointing a small pistol at his head. He has dropped the big machine gun but if he fires that at the man’s brain he is dead.

“HURRY UP OR THIS MAN DIES!”

Everybody gasps. Loki… Loki just feels numb. It feels like this isn’t happening to him. He has a hard time believing it’s happening.

Until the masked man turns a bit and Loki realizes it’s Tony.

_Present time_

This is it, then.

Tony shouldn’t feel as calm as he does. He has so much to live for; the very reason he walked into the building proves it. He has plans for the future and things he want to do. But he’s calm. Entirely so. The cool metal against his temple, the strong arm wrapped around him and preventing his escape. But it’s okay. He’s cool with it. He’s at peace.

“NO!”

Until _that_ voice sounds from the other side of the room and he isn’t anymore. Because there stands Loki, looking absolutely horrified and what is Loki even doing here? Why isn’t he at home, safe, with Thor, out of harm’s way? Why is he standing, screaming like that? Why why why why why?

Apparently, the masked man doesn’t appreciate it either.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET BACK DOWN!”

Loki doesn’t budge.

“I SAID SHUT THE FUCK AND BACK DOWN!”

_2 minutes later_

Loki can’t stand it. He’s crying, despite himself. He can’t stand it.

“Please,” he tries. “I’ll trade places with him. Please. I’ll do anything, just… not him.”

_3 minutes later_

What is Loki doing!? Tony looks at him, tries to convey what are you doing stop this please don’t do this with his eyes. 

“SIT BACK DOWN!” 

_4 minutes later_

“Please!” Loki screeches, more hysterical. If Tony dies… He can’t lose him, he just can’t.

“SIT THE FUCK BACK DOWN OR I WILL SHOOT HIM!” he threatens, just as Loki attempts another step forward. He stills but he doesn’t break eye contact with Tony, teary eyed as he is.

Another masked robber has enough.

_5 minutes later_

Tony can’t hear anything over the sound of his heartbeat but he does see it happen.

He sees the gun go off.

He sees red spreading.

He sees Loki’s eyes empty as he goes down.

_6 minutes later_

Everything goes black.


End file.
